The business has a fleet of four bicycles, and Thursday, it went before Milwaukee's licensing committee seeking permission for a fifth.

During the meeting, the city attorney cited a state law that makes alcohol consumption illegal on the pedal tavern.

Co-owner Ryan Lloyd said he will contact all his bookings for this weekend to break the news.

"It's a 16-passenger chauffeured vehicle. State law allows them to drink on it. We're a 16-passenger chauffeured vehicle. We were under the assumption that we were operating within the law," Lloyd said.

The licensing committee approved a fifth vehicle for the Pedal Tavern.

So far this year, its owners said, 18,000 people have taken a ride on a Pedal Tavern.

A Justice Department civil rights investigation has concluded that the Ferguson Police Department and the city's municipal court engaged in a "pattern and practice" of discrimination against African-Americans, according to a U.S. law enforcement official.